“These things have really started to take off among users that aren’t fitness fanatics,” Henderek said.

An NPD survey found that fitness trackers, brought into the public consciousness in the past few years with products released by the likes of Fitbit and Nike, are owned by roughly 10% of U.S. adults (though Henderek points out a good chunk of users tend to stop using the devices after a month or two).

Microsoft jumped on the wearable fitness tracker bandwagon in October with its Band.

Xbox has signed on to Dish’s effort to defeat the cable bundle. Consumers who don’t want to sign up for dozens of cable channels already have range of a-la carte options, from Netflix to Hulu to old-fashioned broadcast antennae, to watch their favorite shows. What they didn’t have, until now, was a way to see live sports carried on cable…

CNET’s Ina Fried reports that on Jan. 22, Microsoft split its Zune digital music team in two: one focused on the software and services, which it plans to expand onto other, non-Microsoft devices, and another focused on the Zune hardware.

[Update, 12:34 p.m.: Added comments from Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, on the rationale for the change.]

Google today launched Google Sync, a service that allows people to easily move and synchronize contacts and calendar items between devices. The company is licensing patents from Microsoft “covering Google’s implementation of the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol on Google servers,” according to a Microsoft statement.

The New York Times has an interesting look at how hotels are working with technology companies to provide guests access to video games, PCs and other gadgets. The first example is a partnership between Microsoft and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts to create computer lounges in the hotel lobbies, where guests can check e-mail and record video greetings using Microsoft software. But there’s no mention of Sheraton’s use of the Microsoft Surface tabletop computer in its Seattle, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston properties, which we reported on in August.

At Microsoft’s company meeting today, CEO Steve Ballmer was in full cheerleader mode, running around the stage, high-fiving Microsoft employees at Safeco Field, breathing hard and yelling into the microphone, said one observer, who asked to remain anonymous while describing an event that was closed to the public.

Microsoft is working with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion to put Live Search on the popular line of smartphones. The deal could help Microsoft in its struggle to gain market share for its Internet search engine.

Microsoft faces a tough challenge in keeping a lid on the updates to its line of digital music players. The company has to get the devices out to the retailers who sell them to consumers and apparently those retailers don’t always abide Microsoft’s schedule.

The portable music player war — such as it is — looks to be heating up. Microsoft is working on a 120 gigabyte Zune, according Zunerama, an enthusiast site. (Hat tip to Matt Rosoff, of Directions on Microsoft, writing at CNET.)

Meanwhile, Apple has scheduled an event for Sept. 9 that has all the markings of a new iPod launch.

About

Welcome to Microsoft Pri0: That's Microspeak for top priority, and that's the news and observations you'll find here from Seattle Times technology reporter Matt Day. Send tips or comments to mday@seattletimes.com.